Three more arrests for Aggies, including defensive lineman on assault charges

COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M’s troubles with the law continue piling up in the third year of the Kevin Sumlin era. The latest is three more arrests, with one more disturbing than the other two.

Starting defensive lineman Gavin Stansbury, who’s expected to be a leader of the Aggies defense this season, was arrested recently by College Station police on charges of assault, stemming from an alleged incident in Harris County. Starting safety Howard Matthews was arrested at the same time on prior charges of speeding, failure to produce a license and failure to appear in court. Receiver Ed Pope, who’s vying for a starting job, also was arrested for failure to appear in court (and was driving the vehicle pulled over, according to a KBTX-TV report.

According to a probable cause statement obtained by KBTX-TV regarding Stansbury and from the station’s website, “Rice University Police say Stansbury poured a can of beer on a student’s head and then punched him in the left eye on March 16. Other students pulled Stansbury and the victim away before anything else could happen. The victim needed eight stitches to close the wound.

“The alleged attack was witnessed by three students. One of them says she was grazed by Stansbury’s fist after he hit the male student in the face.”

Stansbury, a senior from Franklin, La., was voted Defensive MVP by his teammates this past season. The three arrests continue a trend of Aggies running into trouble this offseason. Receiver Ricky Seals-Jones recently was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, but his lawyer countered that Seals-Jones intends to fight the charges.

Quarterback Kenny Hill, who’s vying for the starting job, was arrested recently on charges of public intoxication. Touted safety Kameron Miles was dismissed from the program about a month ago for what Rivals.com reported as theft. Defensive tackle Isaiah Golden was arrested in February on a misdemeanor marijuana charge, while fellow sophomore Darian Claiborne, a linebacker, was arrested at the same time for a noise violation (for yelling while the players were being questioned).

Claiborne had already been arrested on charges of marijuana possession in December, and missed the Aggies’ 52-48 victory over Duke in the Chick-fil-A Bowl as a result.